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Zquargon posted:Metalworking is awesome! Welcome to thread. Ask questions and have fun! We'll be here.
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Dec 24, 2008 00:51
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Bigos posted:I have a question about pulse. I understand that the micro-pauses cool the puddle and allow it to weld on thin material in all positions, but if short circuit transfer also has many stops and restarts, than shouldn't short circuit transfer work just as well as pulse? Pulse is effectively spray, just that instead of continuous deposit it pulses to lower the heat input so that you can weld in all positions. It offers the high heat, deep penetration of spray, but at the same time the all position effectiveness of short circuit. Short circuit works as well in all positions, but it's colder and so it offers less penetration. It is however cheaper to run than pulse since with pulse you have to use 90% (im pretty sure its 90% but it might be higher) argon to achieve the spray transfer. With short circuit you can step down to a carbon dioxide, or a blend of co2 and argon and reduce cost considerably. Not to mention the increased cost of a machine capable of pulse transfer over a standard GMAW machine. SmokeyXIII fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Dec 24, 2008 |
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Dec 24, 2008 01:42
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RealKyleH posted:Ok now that I fully understand your problem, I am not sure how to help...sorry. Try Practical Machinist, Home Shop Machinist or CNC Zone forums. You may want to use some of the terminology and way of describing why you want to remove the compound as I used to avoid being asked the same questions twice. Are you using a minilathe or what? I've been eyeballing the Cummins minilathes but I don't have the money to blow.  Also, that's not a bad price at all on those bits. Let me know how they turn out. Harbor Freight has some great deals and some things that aren't worth the cost of shipping.
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Dec 24, 2008 04:40
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I am quite excited about their 1/2 bits. I just got these 1/4" bits because I was hoping the tool would break the chip of the SS I was cutting today. I have a 13x40 3HP MSC Lathe. In fact they didn't but they did make tighter chips so I guess I cant complain. probably just need to up the feed rate. I like that when I wear out whatever lovely carbide they have on there I can just put on a quality, material specific, chip breaking insert but still use tool holders that cost nothing. Ive also see boring bars that use 1/4" inserts so I may end up grinding them down to fit those http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVSM?PACACHE=000000079364889 I doubt I would consider any lathe under 2HP or a 12" swing. You need that power to cut common hard materials and do any real work. Also the 2HP and up lathes typically have the rigidity and other stuff you want in a lathe. At $20, or for me $16 really (BTW I think that 20% off coupon is good for two more days) I think I got a great deal considering there's 5 tool holders with inserts. I also bought these and am waiting on them to get here. Same thing but in 1/2" http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=39933 EDIT: BTW that lathe cost me $500 used. I put a $255 rotary converter (because I don't have 3 phase here and don't want to lose power using a static converter) $150 for a chuck, some tooling, filled it up with fluid, etc. Even with that cheap rear end chuck on this lathe the spindle face was only running out about .002-.003 and the outside about .0015. Its a cheap 3 jaw. AnomalousBoners fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Dec 24, 2008 |
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Dec 24, 2008 04:55
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Zquargon posted:Wow, I spent the last several days reading this thread, and I think I found me a new hobby! I have no idea what kind of furnace or forge I am going to try anything with, but that won't be for a while anyway. Lots of homework before I get around to actually doing anything. Thanks for all of the wonderful pictures and how-tos that you all have posted, they are really helpful in deciding if this is something that is over my head or not. Hopefully this thread stays open long enough for me to show you my terrible forays into smithing and casting. Hell yeah man, welcome! What did you want to do first, casting or smithing? We would all be happy to help you get started. Read anvilfire and Iforgeiron, they're great sites with lots of blueprints and plans and ideas. I made 3 more roses today. Turned out pretty well, but one of the roseheads snapped off in the cold, it's still -20C here. Must have been a small flaw or a cold shut. Fortunately it was right at the part where it meets the stem, so I was able to weld it back together. That'll probably be the extent of my smithwork until well after christmas. How about the rest of you guys, got anything planned?
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Dec 24, 2008 04:58
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Ugh smithing and welding. How imprecise. Got lots planned though.
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Dec 24, 2008 05:12
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I'd like to see you machine a rose on your fancy pants lathe mister.  (seriously though post pictures of whatever you make, I need to see some precision objects)
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Dec 24, 2008 06:42
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haha I don't know if I have made anything I'd consider precise. I've never had the machines, tools or skill to do so. Here's a timing cover for a harley davidson evo motor. Those wood inserts match the grips we made for it. This was made with a manual lathe and a little milling on a tabletop mill with a program made quickly in camworks. Solidworks is seriously awesome.  Click here for the full 1110x984 image. This is a V-Band carb flange that I made on a CNC mill and manual lathe. Machined it from a piece of solid steel. You can see the timing cover at the bottom. Most of those fasteners in the pic are custom as are the foot controls. This was built by people who know next to nothing about motorcycles.  Made all the machined parts in this picture except the welded parts which are just stainless steel tubing that we had one of the newer kids turn and polish Did make the top fasteners though. This was made when I was in tech school.  I also did a bit of welding too, although I was just learning:  Machined this from a probably 40lb chunk of solid brass. Almost lost my thumb at one point when it flew out of a machine. 
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Dec 24, 2008 07:04
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Nice. What's the brass bit for?
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Dec 24, 2008 08:00
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Slung Blade posted:Nice. What's the brass bit for? Its a velocity stack so sucking in air.
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Dec 24, 2008 08:01
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dv6speed posted:Welcome to thread. Ask questions and have fun! We'll be here. Slung Blade posted:Hell yeah man, welcome! What did you want to do first, casting or smithing? We would all be happy to help you get started. Thanks guys! I will be including those in my reading. I think that I would like to try some smithing first because that seems slightly less "Well, hope this works like I imagine" than casting does. That and the threat of explosions. Realistically though, I will likely start off with whatever I can afford to set up first. An old roommate has graciously offered her backyard for whatever I end up doing, because I am in an apartment right now, so at least I have a workspace waiting for me.
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Dec 24, 2008 08:58
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If you want a tiny gas forge that will still be useful, Zoeller has some great designs that will be fairly cheap to build. http://www.zoellerforge.com/coffee.html And if you want to go solid fuel I can help you design a small coal/charcoal forge.  (Click for big.) I made this one out of a footlong stainless tub, a surplus exhaust tip, some gravel, and a little leftover refractory cement. For the air blast I just use a little computer fan hooked up to a battery and a solar panel. It's not fast, but it will get steel red hot in a small area. I wouldn't want to weld with it though.
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Dec 24, 2008 16:41
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For christmas I got a harbor freight version of the X2 mill ($400 out the door  ). It's purely a hobby mill for making little things, so I didn't need anything particularly high quality or precise. I'll probably be making the vast majority of stuff I want out of aluminumDoes anyone have any advice on where to get a set of (cheap) end mills and collets? I was also thinking of getting this for a vise, because I think a rotating base would be handy. It looks to be similar to the one sold by littlemachineshop.com only quite a bit cheaper.
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Dec 25, 2008 00:08
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What taper is on that spindle? Some SIEG versions have Mt spindles some have R8. eBay has really really cheap collet chucks and since you're not spinning to the point where balance will matter they're probably perfect for you. HF also has a cheap HSS endmill set especially if you combined it with some of the but remember if you want to use 4 flute endmills you need to use coolant. I would just get some 2 flutes on eBay that has some name brand or are made in the USA. I personally much prefer collet chucks to R8 collets simply because you can get a huge range of sizes and drill with them for a song on eBay and IIRC they clamp stronger. That vise looks ok for imprecise work.
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Dec 25, 2008 00:37
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Slung Blade posted:My best one, dipped in vinegar for a week and cleaned up last night. Going to be part of my present for my mother.  Plus these ones for a buddy.  Click here for the full 1024x768 image.
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Dec 25, 2008 03:05
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RealKyleH posted:Machined this from a probably 40lb chunk of solid brass. Almost lost my thumb at one point when it flew out of a machine. That's seriously awesome, did you use a shaping(?) tool to make the inside/outside taper. Or how did you do it? I haven't learned how to make complex shapes on the lathe yet, just how to use the apron clutches to make a simple taper.
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Dec 26, 2008 10:45
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Chauncey posted:That's seriously awesome, did you use a shaping(?) tool to make the inside/outside taper. Or how did you do it? I haven't learned how to make complex shapes on the lathe yet, just how to use the apron clutches to make a simple taper. Put a 3 jaw chuck on a Hurco TM6 CNC Lathe and made a conversational program with it. One to do the OD and one to do the ID. I did the ID first and then put plastic plugs that I pressed in both sides. I then made a set of soft jaws and used the tailstock on the CNC lathe to do the OD. This wasn't the best system of making it perfectly round taking it in an out of the machine and what not but it worked. Do most of the lathes you work with have taper attachments? Mine doesn't and when I was in school we had one big 17" south bend turnnado that did and several small 11-12" south bends that did but the standard gear headed made in taiwan or china lathes did not. EDIT: I said CNC Mill and mant lathe. The TM6 is a lathe. oops AnomalousBoners fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Dec 27, 2008 |
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Dec 26, 2008 20:39
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Slung Blade posted:My best one, dipped in vinegar for a week and cleaned up last night. Going to be part of my present for my mother. How did the vinegar work out for you? It looks like it did a nice job of cleaning out those tight places.
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Dec 26, 2008 23:47
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The vinegar does a nice job, and I used a couple of little brass wire brushes in my drill to clean them up. It worked pretty well, but I need to buy one of the pipe-cleaner like ones to clean the central hole, that's the one part I can't get into very well. The worst part is cleaning whatever I had the vinegar in. It makes a huge mess with the foam and the scale that collects on the bottom of the glass, also the rust at the liquid line. I would use it more if it didn't take so long.
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Dec 27, 2008 00:04
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RealKyleH posted:
All of our Hardinge lathes have a motor that will move the carriage and cross-slide for you and allow you to adjust the speed and engagement with the apron clutches. The sheldon is the same way but I believe it is driven off a long screw via the gearbox at the spindle and is engaged by a half nut. Feed speed is set by changing the gearing rather than a knob on the Hardinges.
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Dec 28, 2008 09:36
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Slung Blade posted:If you want a tiny gas forge that will still be useful, Zoeller has some great designs that will be fairly cheap to build. I'm not sure what kind of forge I would like to try first, but I imagine the owner of the yard where I am planning on setting up shop would prefer me not having tanks of gas laying around her property, so unless I can be really convincing, I'll probably be going solid fuel. At any rate, I won't have time to work on any of this until early summer. I work for a tax software company, and tax season is just around the corner, so my personal life is about to fly out the window. In the meantime, I'm going to scour my local libraries and see what I can find in there for reading material. I found out that the Arizona Artisan Blacksmith Association has three day workshops for beginners such as myself once a month. I want to attend the one in early May, so between reading and work, I won't have time to teach myself any bad habits. The workshop looks super fun as well. Six students MAX, and all I have to bring is safety goggles. Something to keep me going through tax season, God knows I need it.
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Dec 29, 2008 06:02
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Zquargon posted:I'm not sure what kind of forge I would like to try first, but I imagine the owner of the yard where I am planning on setting up shop would prefer me not having tanks of gas laying around her property, so unless I can be really convincing, I'll probably be going solid fuel. At any rate, I won't have time to work on any of this until early summer. I work for a tax software company, and tax season is just around the corner, so my personal life is about to fly out the window. In the meantime, I'm going to scour my local libraries and see what I can find in there for reading material. I found out that the Arizona Artisan Blacksmith Association has three day workshops for beginners such as myself once a month. I want to attend the one in early May, so between reading and work, I won't have time to teach myself any bad habits. The workshop looks super fun as well. Six students MAX, and all I have to bring is safety goggles. Something to keep me going through tax season, God knows I need it. Sounds good Zquargon. I suggest getting this book: The Art of Blacksmithing http://www.amazon.com/Art-Blacksmithing-Alex-W-Bealer/dp/0785803955/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230535526&sr=8-1 It's great information about how it all used to be done, and it's still very useful. It got me started down this path and it's only 10 bucks. Slung Blade fucked around with this message at 08:39 on Dec 29, 2008 |
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Dec 29, 2008 08:29
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Anyone been up to anything lately? I don't want this page to fall too far, but I also don't want to flood it with pictures of roses. Roses is all I've been making for the last 3 weeks, there is a huge demand for them. Yesterday I had a friend from work come over and I taught him a few basic techniques and walked him through making his own rose, it turned out pretty well. Here's a picture he took once he got it home. He's going to paint it later.  Click here for the full 1296x972 image. He seemed pretty happy with it. 
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Jan 5, 2009 20:54
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I wish I was up to something, but alas... I did order that book you recommended though, hopefully it'll show up sometime this week. I also convinced my mechanic to teach me how to weld, Woo! That probably won't happen until this summer either, though.
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Jan 5, 2009 21:06
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Slung Blade posted:Anyone been up to anything lately? I don't want this page to fall too far, but I also don't want to flood it with pictures of roses. I'm pretty sure everyone has just been swamped with Christmas and New Years. Things will likely pick up here this week and next. For me I've just been working at that TIG welding job. It's really not going very well. I keep blowing shifts because I have to wake up at 4:45am, and then I'm not home till 7pm. But I guess I knew that was a possibility going into this, that it would just be too early in the morning for me for this job to work. With the way things have been going with the economy I assume I'm going to get canned one of these days here. They've been firing welders for the smallest infraction, one day they fired 7 TIG welders. A year ago someone would call you insane for that, but now I guess it's common place. One guy I know got fired because he didn't have his temp sticks in his pocket when he was walking to the tool crib. The biggest problem is that there is simply no other jobs around at the moment. With oil priced so low, Alberta has basically shut down. The project I'm on is the only new construction job going right now, and other than that there is only short term maintenance work.
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Jan 5, 2009 22:06
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Jeez, that sucks smokey. Here in Calgary they keep telling us that the oilpatch is still doing alright in terms of job creation (not great, but better than most). Fuckers must be lying to us.
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Jan 5, 2009 22:38
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Slung Blade posted:Jeez, that sucks smokey. Here in Calgary they keep telling us that the oilpatch is still doing alright in terms of job creation (not great, but better than most). Oh yeah they're lying. Conventional drilling might be doing okay still, but as far as tar sands go it's fricked. They've canceled Petro Canada Fort Hills, put Suncor Voyageur on hold. They're waiting for $70/barrel before they start up construction again. Hopefully it keeps going up the way it has been in the last two weeks because its up to $48 now from $30 something. We're still a long way off though. Haha maybe I should practice making burgers.
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Jan 5, 2009 23:07
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I started working at the rail car place today. Had to weld a 6x2 foot piece of steel to patch up a coal car today. SmokeyXII, hope you don't loose your job. You could always move to the USA and work on rail cars or ships! Actually I think a local company is looking for TIG welders on stainless steel pipe.
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Jan 6, 2009 00:37
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A buddy of mine's a mechanic and he just told me that his shop has a bunch of old brake drums that I can have! So it looks like I am going to start off with a brake drum forge. I have been looking around for various design ideas, but it doesn't seem too terribly complicated. Basically just attach a flange to the bottom of the drum, and then get some piping and screw that in, right? Smokey, I hope you don't lose your job either. There's enough people doing that lately, you don't need to join them... Best of luck to you. Zquargon fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Jan 6, 2009 |
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Jan 6, 2009 22:09
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Zquargon posted:A buddy of mine's a mechanic and he just told me that his shop has a bunch of old brake drums that I can have! So it looks like I am going to start off with a brake drum forge. I have been looking around for various design ideas, but it doesn't seem too terribly complicated. Basically just attach a flange to the bottom of the drum, and then get some piping and screw that in, right? Yeah, that will work. Get the biggest drum you can with the thickest walls. Try to use a T fitting under the drum, that way you can have your blower off to the side, the air going into the fuel, and you can dump any ash that falls into the pipe by opening the bottom. I would suggest attaching a box or something to the side of the drum level with the top of the rim so you can just move coal into the forge as you need it instead of having to add small amounts all the time to keep the level up. Keep it simple, as you use it, you will come to understand what your needs are when it comes to tools, then for your next one you will be better prepared to build to whatever those needs are and you're not out a huge initial investment. Got an anvil lined up yet?
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Jan 6, 2009 22:41
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No anvil yet, but I bet I can get a plate of steel from somewhere and bolt that onto a stump to make do until I can find one I like.
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Jan 6, 2009 23:23
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A plated stump won't really work very well at all, it will bend and deform in no time. The hardness of the top plate is less important than the springy mass the anvil offers. I would suggest trying to find a decent chunk of steel from a scrapyard or a dealer. All you need is something flat, and something round. If you can find a big heavy round bar, you're golden. Use the ends for the flat, and use the length for the round. Even mild steel would have more rebound than a stump with a plate (though still not a whole lot). This wouldn't become useless once you get a real anvil, should you choose to pursue this. I like to keep a selection of large round bars around, usually only about an inch thick, I get them in the scrap pile of a local dealer, just to have a nice easy way of bending a consistent curve. I have a 1" section of a 7" diameter bar and I use it for all kinds of things, for curves, as a cutting plate when I'm chiseling, or as an upsetting anvil I can put on the ground and hold a bar up high and bring down. Whatever you get, remember to stay away from cast iron. It's nice and hard, but it's brittle as gently caress. When you're looking at something and can't tell, tap it with a light hammer, if it "thunks" like a rock, it's cast iron, if it has a slight ring to it, it's steel. Railroad rail would also be pretty good, just make sure to mount it vertically instead of horizontally. That way all the mass is under your hammer instead of way off to the side. The major disadvantage is the fairly small face you'll get on the end of the rail. Got any hammers yet?
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Jan 7, 2009 00:41
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Thanks for the concern guys! I one upped the company today though. I saw an opportunity on the dispatch, so I called and quit my job at 7, and had a new job at 9. I'm going to be working up north again, 7 days on 7 days off 12 hours a day. With flights back and forth. The company I'm going to be working for is substantially better for treating employees well. So we'll see how this works out. It will be my first time on night shifts too. I'll have to bring up a camera and sneak some pics of the project.
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Jan 7, 2009 00:52
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Slung Blade posted:A plated stump won't really work very well at all, it will bend and deform in no time. The hardness of the top plate is less important than the springy mass the anvil offers. I wasn't expecting the plate to be permanent or even very useful, just something to tinker with until a better opportunity comes along. I am really waiting for a workshop in May to tell me if this is actually something I wish to pursue more aggressively. No hammers yet, and I have no gloves, tongs, or anything else except for a newly acquired brake drum and a desire to escape my boring cubicle job, even if it is only on the weekends. I'll have to get my brother to tell me where all the scrapyards in town are and go digging around. Starting next week though, I get to work a wonderful 65 hour week every week until April 17th, so I won't have too much time to do even a little bit of tinkering. What sort of hammer should I be looking for? Not a claw, I assume. Zquargon fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Jan 7, 2009 |
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Jan 7, 2009 01:51
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Get a cross peen (machinist's) hammer and a ball peen. If you can, get ones with a nice rounded crown on the striking face. Sharp right-angle corners just mean they chew up your workpiece. If you find one, grab a straight peen too. But I've never seen one in any tool shop I've been to, and I live in a big city. Find ones that feel comfortable in your hand. You'll be tempted to get the heaviest ones that you can find, but keep in mind your arm can't swing a heavier hammer very long yet. It takes some time to work up the blacksmith's forearm. Edit: go to harbor freight or princess auto and get some cheap punches, chisels, and vise grips. Slung Blade fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Jan 7, 2009 |
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Jan 7, 2009 02:33
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Just got word from Chile Forge, my new propane forge is on its way. I can't loving wait to try it. I think I'll build the stand I bought to put it on tonight, maybe the one for my bench grinder too. I have finally finished all the roses that I promised to make for people. So now I can finally get back to trying new things, learning new techniques and trying different projects. First up is a speedbag mount for my little sister that we can mount on the wall in the basement, and I have to design some kind of art-y base and support for this giant cast iron mailbox my mother bought years ago and didn't know what to do with it.
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Jan 13, 2009 19:26
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I made the first cut today on my cheapo harbor freight mini-mill (sieg x2). I was able to use a big old bridgeport mill in college and have been wanting my own mill since graduating 2 years ago. Here's what I got/spent on my chinese-made junk: mill from harbor freight - $400 with tax ($40 off + 20% off coupon) from wholesale tools: 6x 4 flute, 6x 2 flute end mills, 1x ball end mill, 3/8" end mill holder, 4 pair parallels, dial test indicator, 3" rotating milling vise, grease - $158 total I spent a few days removing the red packing grease and oiling every up with some 5w30 mobil 1, and then mounted it to my particleboard and 2x4 work bench in my basement. Now I just need to find some cheap aluminum stock to get workin' on  to do: add a shroud around the mill so I don't get chips everywhere
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Jan 14, 2009 05:37
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Yay! Some updates to the thread besides me saying I have nothing! Way to go on the job opportunity Smokey, hopefully this job works out better for you than the last one did. In other news, I no longer have nothing! I ordered some chisels and punches, those should be on their way in not too long. My copy of The Art of Blacksmithing just got here today, too. I also was able to get someone to give me their old iron gates that were enclosing their carport because they finally decided that they were pretty bad looking with the new roof style. Heh, I have my scrap pile going before I even have anything that I can do with it.
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Jan 14, 2009 07:36
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dyne, they sell those mills at princess auto up here in Canada, I've often lusted after one, along with the matching lathe. Will they do mild steel? They look too small and light to handle the forces necessary, but I would sure like one if they can handle making small steel parts. Let me know how it is, I'm very curious. And congrats, please show us what you make with it Zquargon, glad to hear you got your book and have some tools on order. That's an awesome first step. I was building some frames last night to hold all of my new poo poo. I bought another of those blue and yellow tool stands like what I mounted my old forge to so I could put my new forge on it. I'm picking up a concrete slab tonight from home depot to put on top of the frame so the forge has something to sit on that won't burn. Also, since it will be outside, the first thing I make with the forge will have to be some half-circle supports that I can throw a canvas tarp over to protect the forge. I have the tarp already, it should do the job just fine. Additionally, I picked up two 40 pound propane tanks at a local propane retailer. That should be good for quite a bit of forging. The forge makers tell me that a 35 pound bbq tank will work well for a long time without freezing up. Considering it's winter here, that probably wouldn't work for me unless I put 3 of them on a manifold or something. The 40s should let me work all day without having to change tanks (I hope).
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Jan 14, 2009 18:58
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Slung Blade posted:Will they do mild steel? They look too small and light to handle the forces necessary, but I would sure like one if they can handle making small steel parts. I remember reading that the X2 will cut steel, but I don't know how well.
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Jan 15, 2009 03:26
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